Eternal Reign (Age of Vampires Book 1)

by Caroline Peckham

  Erik ushered me out of the room and my body was too hot as I backed away, thinking of that kiss.

  I was more than glad to make my escape, practically running from the lounge and finding myself in a kitchen. Except it wasn't much of a kitchen. There was a sink with some cleaning products beside it and a single, enormous silver fridge. That was about it.

  I could have guessed what was in the fridge but I still opened it. Inside, was a hundred gleaming red bottles all labelled with the names of the Realms. I was tempted to smash the whole stock, but Valentina would only replace it. Shutting the fridge door, I pressed my back to it and found myself sliding to the floor. I hugged my knees, burying my face in the folds of my dress.

  He'd kissed me. That animal had actually kissed me.

  My body was like a furnace from the encounter. My mouth tingled as if it had frostbite. And maybe it did after that ice-cold kiss from Satan.

  I gazed at my knees, my stomach hardening into a tight ball.

  Right. No more moping. I had to do something.

  I got up, moving to the sink and turning on the sleek white tap. Cupping the water in my hand, I rinsed my mouth, spitting it back into the basin in an attempt to get rid of the feel of Erik's mouth. I hoped it might also short-circuit the electrical energy charting through my veins.

  Erik chose that particular moment to enter the room and I was glad when his eyes turned to shade.

  Yep, your kisses are spat out Erik. That's how much I want them.

  “We're leaving,” he announced, turning his back on me.

  When he was out of sight, I blew out a breath and started following him, but found my way suddenly blocked by Valentina.

  She smiled at me, but there was no kindness in it. As I tried to step past her, she caught my right arm, pushing up the sleeve of my dress as if she was trying to catch me out at something.

  “What are you doing?” I tugged away from her as her cold fingers roamed over the inside of my forearm. Where she touched, my skin began to burn.

  Her lips pursed then she shrugged, releasing me. “Nothing. Off you go.” She stepped aside just enough so I had to squeeze past her, tugging down my sleeve as I went.

  What the hell was that about?

  She leant in low as I passed, whispering directly in my ear, “If you want some real advice about Erik, I'd suggest you don't trust a word he says.”

  I slipped away into the hall, my heart hammering. Whatever the intention of her words, it made me question the promise Erik had made to me. Had he discussed it with Valentina? Maybe they'd had a good laugh at my expense as Erik revealed he had no intention of helping my father at all. But then why would Valentina try to warn me of that?

  My gut knotted as I exited the apartment, finding Erik waiting for me in the stairwell.

  “Don't look so sad, we have hours of fun left to have.” Erik headed down the stairs and I followed, a scowl growing on my face.

  “If this is your idea of fun, I'd guess you don't have many friends.”

  Erik glanced at me, his pace matching mine as we descended the steps. “Oh good, Rebel is back,” he deadpanned.

  My mind shifted gears to what I was fairly sure I’d witnessed in Valentina’s apartment. I prayed Erik wouldn’t laugh at me when I voiced my thoughts. “Tell me if I’m mad, but did Valentina…” Make it rain? I couldn’t get the words out, knowing how insane they would sound.

  “Control the weather?” Erik offered and I gaped at him, unable to believe I was actually right.

  “Did she?” I gasped.

  He nodded, a beautiful smile spreading across his face. “I’m impressed, Rebel. You’re sharper than I thought.”

  “How is that possible?” I demanded.

  “I told you we have a way of keeping the sun from shining here,” Erik said.

  “But...magic?” I whispered, feeling foolish. But that was surely what it was. Dad’s stories had been filled with all kinds of strange beings like witches and mages. He’d said it wasn’t real, but this suggested otherwise.

  “I suppose you could call it that,” Erik mused. “It’s a gift from the gods. Valentina was once a very different kind of being to the vampires. Since I sired her, she has kept many of her ancient powers.”

  “What was she...before?” I asked, my pulse thundering in my ears.

  His answer was another riddle for me to dwell on. And it struck a strange kind of feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  “Our enemy. A slayer of the Clan of Storms.”

  I gripped Fury firmly and willed my hands to stop shaking. I hadn’t realised quite how tightly my own bravery had been tied to Magnar’s presence until he’d left me perched in this goddamn tree.

  Smoke spiralled to the south, letting me know that he’d succeeded in lighting the fire. Hopefully the vampires tracking us had spotted it too.

  I bit my lip as I scanned the horizon for any sign of Magnar. He’d said if he had enough time he would make it back to me before they arrived. If not, I was on my own.

  My heart beat an unsteady rhythm against my ribs. I still couldn’t see him.

  Fury grew warmer in my palm and my mouth went dry. He’d assured me the vampires wouldn’t look for me in the branches at the top of a pine tree. They’d be too distracted by the fire to waste time hunting the foliage above them.

  Up, up! Fury whispered in my mind and I frowned in confusion as the urge to look skyward gripped me. I squinted into the branches above my head, trying to spot anything amongst them.

  It took me a moment to pick out the large, brown rat hidden within the thick boughs. It tilted its head at me in a gesture that looked anything but natural and I lurched towards it, swiping my blade.

  The rat let out a high-pitched squeak and leapt to another branch as I swung my blade again.

  Fury ached to end the Familiar but my awkward position in the tree made it impossible to get close to it. The rat scurried along the branches, dodging every attempt I made to slice it open before finally making it past me and leaping to the ground.

  Indecision paralysed me as the rodent scurried out of sight into the long grass at the base of the tree. I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch it and whatever vampire it was linked to now knew exactly where I was.

  Where the hell are you Magnar?

  If I stayed here then it was only a matter of time before they found me. And I’d be trapped at their mercy.

  My stomach knotted as I made my decision, sheathing Fury and starting my awkward climb out of the tree. I scrambled down as fast as I could, skinning my palms on the rough bark. I rolled as I hit the ground and quickly regained my feet, searching the surrounding area for the vampires who hunted me.

  There was no sign of anything beneath the trees but as I grabbed Fury again, the heat from its hilt practically burned me. The blade hummed with the promise of bloodshed and I kept hold of it as I started running.

  Magnar had said that if the vampires were too close for him to rejoin me before their arrival, he would take up position downwind from the fire. The smoke blew steadily to the left so I headed after it as fast as my legs could carry me.

  I was tempted to shout for him but I couldn’t be sure of who would hear me first. I willed Fury to let me know which way they were coming from but it gave me nothing. It was as if it were telling me that they were approaching from every direction at once.

  I stumbled to a halt as I realised what that meant. The blade wasn’t refusing to help me, it was telling me exactly what I’d asked. I was surrounded.

  Silence pressed in on me from every side, making goosebumps rise along my arms.

  I looked around cautiously, holding the blade up defensively. My skin prickled uneasily. Now that I was paying attention, the utter silence was more than enough to warn me that there were far more vampires coming than we’d thought. Instead of laying a trap for them, it seemed that we’d fallen into one ourselves.

  I cursed my luck as the silence stretched on. I’d been stupid to believe that we could eve
r outsmart them. Of course they’d thrown everything at us this time. We’d killed five vampires two days ago. I doubted any human had managed such a thing in the last twenty-one years. They were hardly going to risk sending a small group a second time. This time they’d make sure they caught me, drag me to the blood bank and drain me alongside my family.

  My limbs began to tremble at the thought and I forced myself to think the way Magnar had taught me. I had the blood of a warrior. I would stand and face them like one.

  I gritted my teeth and held Fury in front of me, daring the first of them to come and hoping Magnar would appear before they got to me.

  As the silence dragged and the tension bit at me, I raised my chin higher and glared out at the swaying grass around me.

  “What are you waiting for?” I called when I couldn’t take it anymore. “Surely you’re not afraid of one human girl?”

  Fury pulsed with excitement as the first vampire finally rose from the long grass. She was taller than any woman I’d ever seen and her straight, black hair fell like a sheet of ink to her waist. She walked towards me, surveying me through narrowed eyes.

  I felt like a mouse waiting for the cat to pounce. I could tell at once that she was an Elite. Even if it hadn’t been for her fine clothes, there was something about the way she held herself that screamed power. Her face was so devastatingly beautiful that it was almost hard to look at. Her skin seemed to glow and her lips were the deepest blood red. The colour made me wonder about the last time she’d fed and I forced myself to swallow the lump in my throat.

  “Are you all alone out here sweet girl?” she asked, her voice almost as alluring as her face. Their perfection repulsed me. All of that evil wrapped up in a beautiful lie.

  “Alone? I’m here with you aren’t I?” I narrowed my eyes at her as she stopped a few meters from me. Her gaze zeroed in on the golden blade in my hand and I smirked at her knowingly.

  “Vampire killer,” she hissed, her eyes still locked on the weapon.

  Yesss, Fury replied deep within my bones. It longed to meet her properly and I could feel her death winding its way through the blade’s deepest desires.

  “I’m so sorry, were some of those dead bloodsuckers your friends?” I wasn’t entirely sure why I was taunting this vampire but something about Fury’s excited energy was rubbing off on me.

  “You expect me to believe you killed them?” she spat, her demeanour slipping as the monster inside her rattled its cage, wishing to be let loose.

  “You already believe it. Otherwise you’d come a little closer.” I took a purposeful step towards her and a thrill raced down my spine as she stepped back.

  I wondered how long I could keep this up. Perhaps it would give Magnar enough time to get to me.

  I took another step towards her, an arrogant smile finding its way to my face as I taunted her. The vampire backed away again and I held Fury a little higher as I advanced.

  “Perhaps you did kill them,” she admitted. “But we came prepared in case that were true.” She stopped backing up and smiled at me mockingly as she raised her arms.

  Vampires rose from the long grass surrounding me in a silent wave of motion. I did a quick count and made it twenty. I wasn’t just outnumbered, I was totally screwed.

  I tried not to let my panic show on my face. They won’t kill me. My blood is worth more than my life.

  I planted my feet squarely and waited for them to attack. My heart fluttered like a bird in a cage.

  Fury hummed with excitement. That made one of us. But as blades couldn’t exactly die, I guessed it had no place for fear.

  The Elite waved a hand and they all rushed forward at once.

  I wanted to stand and fight but I didn’t even know which way to turn. I spun wildly, slashing Fury before me in a vain hope of staving them off. Some of them dodged away from the blade, others took the wounds it dished out.

  I curled my free arm over my head as more hands than I could count grabbed any part of my body they could reach.

  Somehow my right arm found the smallest amount of space to move and I let Fury guide my hand as I thrust it skyward. A scream rang out and several of the vampires recoiled in horror as dust fell in a torrent down my arm.

  I had half a second to smirk in satisfaction before an iron grip closed on my wrist and twisted violently, forcing me to release my weapon.

  As Fury fell from my grasp, my own courage floundered pathetically. I was slammed down onto my back in the grass, each of my limbs pinned in place by a different vampire.

  Once they were sure I was secured, the others moved away, allowing the Elite to approach.

  My chest rose and fell rapidly as I glared up at her between strands of my golden hair which had fallen across my face.

  She stooped to retrieve Fury from the ground but cursed and released it again just as quickly. Smoke rose from her hand and I noticed an imprint of Fury’s runes burned into the flesh of her palm.

  I smiled at her triumphantly despite the four vampires who held me pinned at her mercy.

  “Show me her right arm,” she snapped angrily and the vampire holding that limb yanked my coat sleeve back to reveal my mark.

  The Elite hissed as she spotted it. “Slayer,” she growled, making the word sound like a curse.

  My heart started beating faster as doubt crept in. The vampires would never waste human blood by killing me but would they feel the same about a slayer? What if their laws told them to kill slayers on sight?

  Any time you want to jump in and save me Magnar, that would be great.

  The Elite leaned down to glare at me, her black hair hanging an inch from my face. “The Belvederes will be very happy to see you, vampire killer,” she hissed and the glimmer in her eye sent a dagger of fear slicing through my chest.

  She pulled a square of plastic from a pocket within her robes and pressed a button on it, lighting up a screen. I stared at it in confusion as she hit some more buttons then pressed it to her ear.

  “General Wolfe?” she said and my heart froze solid in my chest as I realised that what she held was a cellphone. The vampire on the other end of that conversation was the monster who had ripped my family apart. If she took me to him…

  “It’s Eve. I-” the Elite pulled the cellphone from her ear and glared at it. “Curse it! The signal has gone again. I hate the west coast. Let’s load her up and head back, I’ll inform the General of our success when the gods deign to return the cell service.”

  The Elite stormed away from me and I let out a shaky breath. Wolfe still didn’t know she had me. I was safe from his sadistic clutches for a little longer, I just had to hope Magnar would return before he got his hands on me.

  The vampires heaved me up onto my feet and started dragging me back up the hill.

  I searched the space around us wildly, desperately hoping to see any hint of Magnar coming to release me. There was no sign of him though.

  My heart pounded with panic as each step took me further from the slayer whom I’d entrusted with my life. What if he didn’t know they’d captured me? Or if this group was too big for him to deal with? Perhaps he just wouldn’t think I was worth the risk...

  What if he’s left me to face this alone?

  The carriage ride was painfully silent as we drove back through the city. Daylight was draining from the sky and the concrete world looked more bleak than ever beyond the window.

  Valentina's words crawled into my ears again. “If you want some real advice about Erik, I'd suggest you don't trust a word he says.”

  I didn't know who to trust. Erik had told me Valentina had once been their enemy. But despite trying to get more answers out of him, he’d been stubbornly silent on the matter since. Perhaps she really had been trying to help me. But something in my gut told me to beware.

  The only thing I knew for sure was that I needed to get assurance that Erik was going to keep up his end of our deal. Nothing else mattered but that. I just needed some time alone to figure out how to do tha
t.

  When we headed back into the royal grounds, I wondered if Erik had decided not to spend any more time with me after all.

  A girl can dream.

  Soon, we exited the carriage outside the castle and I gazed up at its imposing walls. Our silence continued as we walked toward the entrance, but before we got there, Count Fabian stepped out of the door in a dark red uniform.